A.J. Ellis

In rebuilding the Orioles into a contender, manager Buck Showalter knew a greater priority needed to be placed on playing exceptional defense. Now, after a year during which the club set new standards for defensive excellence, the Orioles are being recognized individually for their defensive play. Six Orioles were named finalists Friday for Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. When the winners are announced Tuesday night, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones and catcher Matt Wieters will be going for their third career Gold Gloves. Wieters could win his third consecutive award. Shortstop J.J. Hardy and right fielder Nick Markakis are up for their second career Gold Gloves. Hardy won last season,...

Related "A.J. Ellis" Articles

In rebuilding the Orioles into a contender, manager Buck Showalter knew a greater priority needed to be placed on playing exceptional defense.
Now, after a year during which the club set new standards for defensive excellence, the Orioles are being...

Zack Greinke extended his scoreless streak to 43 2/3 innings Sunday in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals, but he might have lost his primary catcher.
Yasmani Grandal departed from the game in the sixth inning after a foul ball off...

Clayton Kershaw injected some normalcy into what had been a strange 24 hours at Nationals Park. Kershaw continued his mastery of the Nationals, striking out a season-high 14 in eight shutout innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated Washington 4-2 to...

KEY MOMENT: The Dodgers went in front, 4-3, when Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run home run against left-hander Will Smith in the eighth inning. "He left one up and in," Gonzalez said. The home run was the fifth of the homestand and the 18th this...

A.J. Ellis didn’t have to worry too much about overanalyzing things for the past three years.
As the Dodgers’ starting catcher, he had 100 games or so to prepare for, and any time off was a welcome respite from the grind of the season.
But when Los...

With a bang and a whiff. That’s how the first half of the Dodgers’ season ended Sunday afternoon in a 4-3 victory over the Brewers.
Together, the teams homered four times to generate five of the seven runs on the day. In the end, the only one that was...

After his peers left him off the NL All-Star team, Clayton Kershaw made a strong case for fans to vote him into the game by striking out a season-high 13 in an eight-hit shutout during his last outing before the break. The left-hander snapped a five-start...

Like most everyone else in baseball, the Dodgers think a lot of themselves. They expect to win and win a lot.
And when it doesn't happen, or happen as often as they expect, they can get highly frustrated. It's the middle of June, the halfway mark to...

Years ago, back when Yasiel Puig was a 3-year-old in Cuba, a triple-A player in Buffalo named Rich Aude displayed a home-run celebration that would put any of Puig's bat flips to shame.
Aude hit a walk-off home run. He watched it fly for several seconds,...

The eight shutout innings Clayton Kershaw pitched Saturday didn't erase what happened in October. Perhaps that was why Kershaw offered only a one-word response when he was asked if the Dodgers' 2-0 victory that night was any more meaningful because it was...

KEY MOMENT: The Dodgers were forced to watch the Giants celebrate a walk-off victory for the second consecutive day, as Justin Maxwell singled off Juan Nicasio in the 10th inning to drive in Angel Pagan. For the Giants, the win completed a three-game...

Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said Wednesday night that X-rays on his right hand, injured earlier in a game against the San Francisco Giants, were negative.
“That’s a relief,” he said.
Ellis hurt his hand on a ninth-inning pitch by Chris Hatcher that...

On a night when Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner made history by starting opposite each other, the game was decided by pitchers of considerably less stature.
Chris Hatcher served up a one-out single in the ninth inning to Buster Posey and plunked...

KEY MOMENT: Chris Hatcher served up a one-out single to Buster Posey in the ninth inning, then plunked Justin Maxwell. The ball that struck Maxwell also struck catcher A.J. Ellis on his throwing hand, forcing him out of the game. J.P. Howell replaced...

Yasiel Puig, who appears to be in an early-season slump, will be on the bench Saturday when the Dodgers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second game of a three-game series at Chase Field.
In the Dodgers’ first four games, Puig was two for 17...

It’s one thing to replace a popular player, and something else when he’s still on the team, highly respected by teammates, still sharing your catching position and has a close personal and professional relationship with the best pitcher on the team, if...

It was the biggest failing of last year’s team and probably the biggest uncertainty of this year’s Dodgers squad.
The bullpen.
To those who witnessed its struggles in the second half and meltdown in the playoffs, it brings a shudder. It received a...

In the middle of fielding questions about the Dodgers' season-opening victory over the San Diego Padres, Adrian Gonzalez made an inquiry of his own.
"Last year, how many times did we come from behind?" he asked.
The answer: Not many.
Only...

Joc Pederson started in center field for the Dodgers in all three games of the Freeway Series, the latest sign the team plans for him to play there on opening day.
Manager Don Mattingly all but confirmed Saturday afternoon that Pederson would be the...

The Dodgers’ new front office was very busy this off-season, not only making a flood of trades, but signing a wealth of non-roster invitees.
When they finally got around to announcing their 25-man roster Saturday night after their 6-6 tie with the Angels...